Diver killed in shark attack

AN Australian diver was killed by sharks in south Australia on Thursday, police said, in only the second fatal shark attack in Australian waters in more than two years.

The abalone diver was thought to have been returning to the surface after a dive when two sharks, believed to be great whites, took him, South Australia Police said in a statement.

The skipper on the boat witnessed the incident and returned to shore near Coffin Bay, around 300 kilometres west of the city of Adelaide, the statement added. No other details were immediately available.

In August, an Australian surfer died after being mauled by a shark off a Western Australian beach.